Cranberry Bread

My mom taught me just about everything I know about working in the kitchen.  She is a fabulous cook, and was kind enough to put up with me "helping" her for many years.  The only thing she didn't teach me was how to make a huge mess out of even the most menial task - that's a god-given talent that I've had since the day I was born, no lessons needed.  My mom's cranberry bread is one of my favorite things, and the perfect way to use some of the season's best cranberries, if you ask me.  I brought in a loaf to share with one of my small groups at school, and it was a hit with the medical students.  Enjoy!

Cranberry Bread

From the kitchen of Ellen

Ingredients

2 T melted butter

3/4 cup orange juice

~1/2 banana, mashed

1 egg, beaten

1 cup sugar

2 c flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1+ cup cranberries, halved (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix the wet ingredients and sugar together, then add the dry ingredients until just combined.  Gently fold in the cranberries.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.  This recipe doubles easily, so bake a second loaf to share.  

Pumpkin Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin is popular - and quite ubiquitous at this time of year, creeping into every kind of food or drink you can imagine. Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin scones, pumpkin risotto. Last night I went out to eat with friends, and there was even a pumpkin martini on the menu.  I don’t mean to offend any diehard pumpkin fans out there, but I think all of those uses of pumpkin should be banned!  No, not because I’m trying to kill the thanksgiving holiday spirit, but because I think all pumpkin should be transformed into these delicious bars.  Not sure if you’re all aware, but last year there was a shortage of canned pumpkin – its over now, but you never know when it will happen again.  And I don’t care how delicious that pumpkin martini is.  It cannot compete with these bars.  (Just ask Chris, who ate half the pan.)

Pumpkin Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Paula Deen, Betty Crocker, and Martha Stewart (now that’d be a dinner party!)

Ingredients:

For the bars:

4 eggs

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup applesauce (unsweetened)

15-ounce can of pumpkin

2 cups flour

2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

2 t ground cinnamon

½ t ground ginger

1 t salt

For the frosting:

4 oz cream cheese, softened (at room temp is perfect)

2 T butter, softened

2 T maple syrup

1 t vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

A splash or two of milk

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine the eggs, sugar, oil, applesauce, and pumpkin in a bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer until well-combined and no lumps of pumpkin remain.  Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt, then mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are combined and the batter is nice and smooth.  Pour the batter into a greased 9x13 inch pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

While the bars cool, use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese, butter, maple syrup, vanilla and powdered sugar.  If your frosting is still too thick, add a tiny splash of milk (no more than 1 tablespoon at a time) to get the right consistency.  Spread over cooled bars, and enjoy!

The last bar awaits its end